Mop



March 19, 1935. D. J ENKlN MOP Filed Oct. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR Jar/k Q/e/M Jks Mg W A TTORNE Y D. JENKINS March 19, 1935.-'

MOP

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 14. 1935 Patented Mar. 19, 1935 .I-TIVUNITEVD STATES PATENT OFFICE v V MOP David Jenkins, Seattle, Wash. Application October 14, 1933, Serial No. 693,585 g 6 Claims. (0115-119) My invention relates to mops and the general object 'of my invention is to provide a mop having simple and efiicient'means'for wringing the water out of the mop cloth or water absorbent mopping member which is connected'therewith. Mops of the type commonly used for mopping floqrs ordinarily embody a handle, a water absorbent mopping member. herein termed a mop cloth; and means-for securing the mop cloth to the end of the handle. Mops of this type usually require the mop clothto 'bewrung out by hand. This requires considerable strength and effort and also makes it necessary to subjec't'the hands to the action of-water which is usuallydirty and which may be hot or cold and may contain soap or other cleaning substances which are damaging'to' the hands.

In accordance with this invention I provide a mop embodying a handle provided with means for holding a mop cloth and further provided with "simple and efficient means for quickly and easily wringing out said mop cloth without touching the mop cloth or getting the hands in the water. l

More specific objects of my invention are to provide a mop of this type in which the mop cloth is secured to a slide means which is movable lengthwise of the handle and in which said mop cloth' is positioned between two rollers whereby upward movement of said slide means may draw the mop cloth upwardly between the rollers and wring the water out of such mop cloth, andto further provide means for moving the rollers apart after the wringing operation whereby the mop cloth which'has been wrung out may drop downwardly between the rollers into a proper position for use.

Other and more specific objects of 'the invention will be apparent from the following descripviews of details of the invention. 7

Fig.- 7 is a detached inverted fragmentary perspective view of the end of the mop handle.

55 Fig. 8 is a-detached plan view of a' modified tion taken in connection with'the accompanying Figs. 3, 4, 5 and .6 are detached perspective form of roller support which may be used on the end of the mop handle. f

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the roller support shown in Fig. 8, the mop handle being omitted;

Like reference numerals designate like parts 5' throughout the several views.

In the drawings 10 designates a mop handle, which preferably is of substantially square cross section throughout its lower end portion and which may have the corners removed as at 11, 10 or may be rounded, above the said squared portion to provide for more comfortable and convenient handling. 5

' Secured to the lower end of the handle 10 is a roller supporting memberwhichma'y be made of heavy wire properly bent, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, or which may be made of sheet metal, as shown in Fig. 8.

The roller supporting member shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 comprises a wire having two portions 12 adapted to seat within grooves 13 in the sides of the handle 10. At the terminations of the portions 12 the wire is bent outwardly and extended sidewise to form two inclined portions 14 and these inclined portions 14 are connected with two short, straight, doubled portions 15 formed by extending the wire forwardly and then bending it rearwardly. The ends of the-rearwardly extending elements of the doubled portions 15 are connected by a cross wire 16. Eye members 17 are formed in the front ends of the doubled portions 15 for the reception of pins 18 on a roller 20. An upwardly protruding element 21 maybe formed in the medial portion of the cross wire 16 to facilitate securing said cross wire to the end of the handle,.the element 21 extending into a suit-. able opening 19 in the end of said handle 10.

'A' spring wire 23, Figs. 1 and 5, has a medial eye member 24 which fits over a pin member 22 that protrudesfrom the end of the'handle '10 whereby said spring wire 23 is secured to the handle. This spring wire 23 preferably lies directly in front of the cross wire 16 between said cross wire and the roller and may beprovided with loops 25 to give it greater resiliency. The

1 ends of this spring wire 23 extend over and beyond the doubled portions15 of the roller supporting member. This spring wire 23 has the function of yieldingly holding two wringer rolls together so that they will efficiently wring the water out of a mop cloth when it is drawn up wardly between them. 7 d

A ferrule 26 is preferably provided on the end of the handle 10 to strengthen the handle-and prevent the same from splitting and. this ferrule 5 .on the slide 51.

may have an extension or guard 27 which extends outwardly and downwardly over the end of the pin member 22.

Another roller 36 is provided for cooperation with the roller 20. This roller 30 has axial pins 31 which protrude from the ends thereof and are journaled in eyes 32 in the ends of curved supports 33. The curved supports 33 extend upwardly as respects the handle for a substantial distance and are thence bent inwardly to form converging portions 34 which terminate in eye portions 35 that are secured to a lever arm 36 by pin means 37. The curved roller supports 33 pass between the overhanging ends of the spring wire 23 and the axial pins 18 which'pro-ject outwardly from the ends of the roller 20 whereby said curved supports 33 are guided for endwise movement so that the roller 30 may be moved into a position close to the roller 20 or may be moved into a position a substantial distance away from the roller 20. The lower end portion of the lever, arm 36 is secured by a pivot 38 to a thin plate 40 which is fitted into a slot or saw out 39 in the handle and secured in said slot as by prongs 41 on the plate 40, or in any other suitable way. This plate 40 is made thin to permit movement past it of a slidingpart hereinafter described and is preferably made relatively long to serve as a guide and positioning means for the lever 36, the lower end of said lever 36 being split, as shown at 42 in Fig.3, and being pivotally connected near the lower end of the plate 40 so that the plate 40 will be in the split 42 when the lever 36 is positioned parallel to the handle '10 as shown. by full lines Fig. 2. I

When the lever 36 is positioned parallel to the handle .10 the roller 30 will be positioned .close to the roller 20 and the two ro1lers30 and 20 will be on opposite sides of a mop cloth 43, as shown by full lines in Fig. 2. Whenthe lever 36 is lowered into a positionas shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 2, then the roller .30 will be moved'away from the roller 20 leaving room for the mop cloth 43 to drop down freely between said rollers. The upper end of the-lever 36 is beveled as at 44 for engagement with an inclined surface 45 on a' catch member 46 which is mounted on the handle by apivot 47. Spring means 48 yieldingly urges the catchmember 46 into a position of engagement with respect to the end of the lever 36 and cam means 50 on said catch member 46 is provided, for engagement by a slide 51, of a form to be described, for moving the catch member into released position.

The mop cloth 43 is held by a mop cloth holder which may be formed of a cross wire 49 having end portions-52 bentat right angles to the wire 49 and looped as at 53 around another cross wire 54 and thence extended angularly to provide convergent portions 55..which have hook like members 56. engaging with upturned flanges 57 Another cross wire member 58, having portions 60 extending at right angles therefrom and bent to form loops 61 around the cross wire 54 is provided forcooperation with the cross wires 49 and 54 in holding .a mop cloth 43,. The ends 62 of the last described'wire member 58-6061 preferably extend upwardly beyond the convergent portions 55' of the other cloth holding member as shown in Fig. 1, whereby they may be pressed inwardly and slipped under the portions 55 to hold the mop .cloth when said-mop cloth is looped over the cross wire54.

Theslide 51, moreclearly shown in Fig. 6, is preferablyiormed of sheet metal bent into rectangular shape and having an open slot 63 along the lower side to clear the plate member 40. The upturned flanges 5'7 may be made by bendingportions of the slide member upwardly. A hand hold 64 is also pivotally secured to the upturned flanges 57 and is adapted to rest on supporting members 65 which are also formed integral with the slide. By pivotally connecting the handhold 65 with the slide 51 I avoid any tendency to cause I 7 the slide .51 to bind on the 1 3134116.

In Figs. 8 and 9, I have show a r l r u t 1 ing member which may be used instead of the ;wire roller supporting member shown in Fig. 4,

and which may be composed of a plate 66 of sheet metal bent double and shaped to form a receptacle 6.8 for a handle 10'. The overlapped parts of this roller holding member may be secured. to-

.gether, as by rivets .69. Bearing members'70 are 1 provided at the extremities of the plate 66 for r the pins on the ends of a roller which is the same as-rollerzflvshown F g. 4.

Th p ratiqnof this mop respets the mob cloth wringer is as follows: Themop .010th'43 is made fast to the c oss wires .54, 49 and 589i the mop :cloth holding means and'is allowed to drop down between therollers .20fand 30;while said rollers are spread apart. With the slidefil in its lowermost position the lever36 is then raisedvand latched by the catch member 46 mg position parallel with the handle v10 thusmdving the rollers 20 and 3.0 togetherso that theyengage with and clamp the mop cloth; ,43 ,adjacentthe location of its engegementby the-wires 49. 58.

With the mop cloth thusfirmly held -be-' tween rollers 20 and 30 themop maybein the usual manner, for mopping purposes. After the mop cloth has been dipped in water it may .be very quickly and easily wrungput by grasping the handle 64 and moving the .snde'si together with the mop cloth holding-means and the mop cloth 43 upwardly along the-handle, the

mop-cloth 43 thus being drawn between-the roll I ers 20 and30'and havingthe Water squeezed out.

The spring member 23 will always maintain I enoughpressureron the rollers 20 and 30 to wring all of the excess water out of the mop .clo th 4,3, As the slide 51 approaches the Jimitof its upward movement, and after the -mop,.cloth been pulled entirely .or almost-entirely through the rollers v20and .30, the slide will engage with the cam members50 of the catch 46 and release the lever arm 36-and the said. lever arm. 36 will drop down, by gravity into a positionas shown by dot anddash lines in .Fig. .2, andwillfmove .the roller BOoutaWay-fmm the roller. 20so that when the handle 64 is released and, the Slide .51 .91

lowedto move down along the handle the cloth :will move downwardly between the rollers to the lowermost positiomafter whlchthe lever 36 may beraised tomovethe roller 3.0. against. the

mop cloth and themop is ready to be'use'dfor mopping purposes. Whilethe mop cloth-'43 "is being wrung out the mop will preferably bejheld in a generally upright-position over a mop paijl i or like receptacle and itwill bepreferably kept in this generally uprightposition "but will be moved to one side ofthe pail'before the handle 64-is releasedandthemop cloth alldwedto :drop 1 down. i

The device is simple .aandmexpensive in zoom- .structionandvery easy:and quick to operate and is efiicient in wringing the .watenout; of thermp cloth. It does not =twistrnorltearthe moo-cloth but wringsthe waterbut'evenly by pressure; .j- .ingthecloth sufiicie ntly dryforpse. r

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly disclose a preferred embodiment of my invention but it will be understood that this disclosure is merely illustrative and that such changes in the invention may be made as are fairly within the scope and spirit of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a mop for holding and wringing a mop cloth; a handle; two wringer rollers extending crosswise of the lower end portion of said handle; relatively fixed means rotatively connecting one of said rollers to the lower end portion of said handle; a lever pivotally mounted on said handle, said lever having a normal position substantially parallel to said handle and a released position at an angle to said handle; arm means pivotally connected with said lever and adjustably supporting the other roller whereby said other roller maybe moved toward and away from said first named roller by movement of said. lever; guide pins protruding endwise axially from said nonadjustable roller, a spring member extending crosswise of the lower end portion of said handle and projecting beyond the ends of said rollers,

said arms which support said adjustableroller being positioned between said guide pins and the end portions of said spring member, wherebysaid arms will be guided and said adjustable roller resiliently urged toward said non-adjustable roller; and a mop cloth holding means movable longitudinally of said handle and adapted to hold a mop cloth.

2. In a mop for holding and wringing a mop cloth; a handle; wringer rollers carried by the lower end of said handle and positioned to receive therebetween the mop cloth; roller moving means connected with the rollers whereby saidrollers may be relatively moved toward and away from each other; locking devices positioned to engage with and hold the roller moving means when the rollers are held relatively close together; a mop cloth holder connected with the mop cloth and movable lengthwise along the handle whereby upward movement of said mop cloth holder will draw said mop cloth upwardly between said rollers and wring said mop cloth; and means on the mop cloth holder positioned to engage with and release said locking devices as said mop cloth holder approaches near to the limit of its uppermost position relative to the handle.

3. In a mop for holding and wringing a mop cloth; a handle; two wringer rollers positioned adjacent the lower end portion of rsaid handle; fixed means rotatably connecting one of said rollers to said handle; movable means rotatably supporting the other roller whereby said two rollers may be moved toward and away from each other; locking devices positioned to engage with and hold said movable roller supporting means when the rollers are positioned relatively close together; a slide member movable on said handle and adapted to engage with and release said looking devices when it is moved upwardly on said handle; and a mop cloth holding means connected with said slide and adapted to be engaged with the mop cloth.

4. In a mop for holding and wringing a mop cloth; a handle; two wringer rollers positioned adjacent the lower end portion of said handle;

in which said rollers are held close together; a

slide member movable on said handle and adapted to engage with and release said catch member when in its uppermost position relative to the handle; and a mop cloth holding means connected with said slide member and adapted to engage and hold said mop cloth.

5. In a mop for holding and wringing a mop cloth; a handle; two wringer rollers positioned adjacent the lower end portion of said handle; relatively fixed means connecting one of said rollers to said handle; a lever pivotally mounted on said handle, said lever having a normal position substantially parallel to said handle and a released position at an angle to said handle, adjustable roller supporting means pivotally connected with said lever and adjustably supporting the other roller whereby said other roller moved close to said first named roller for the normal position of said lever and to a distance from said first named roller for the released position of said lever; guide means for said movable roller supporting means; catch means on the handle positioned to engage with and hold said lever in the normal position; a slide member movable on said handle and adapted to engage with and release said catch means when it is in the uppermost position relative to said handle; and a mop cloth holding means connected with said slide member and adapted to engage with and hold said mop cloth.

6. In a mop for holding and wringing a mop cloth; a handle; two wringer rollers extending crosswise of the lower end portion of said handle; relatively fixed means rotatively connecting one of said rollers to the lower end portion of said handle; a lever pivotally mounted on said handle, said lever havinga normal position substantially parallel to said handle and a released position at an angle to said handle; arm means pivotally connectedwith said lever 'and adjustably supporting the other roller whereby said other roller may be moved toward and away from said first named roller by movement of said lever; guide pins protruding endwise axially from said first named roller; a spring member extending crosswise of the end of said handle and projecting beyond the ends of said rollers, said arms which support said adjustable roller being positioned between the ends of said spring member and the axial guide pins which project from said first named roller; catch means on the handle positioned to engage with and hold the lever in the normal position; a slide member movable on said handle and adapted to engage with and release said catch means when said slide is in the uppermost position relative to said handle; and a mop cloth holding means connected with said slide member and adapted to engage with and hold said mop cloth.

DAVID JENKINS. 

